CHICAGO (AP) — Nikola Vucevic scored 25 points, Lauri Markkanen added 16 off the bench and the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-96 on Saturday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Denzel Valentine had 13 points off the bench as the Chicago reserves accounted for 45 points.
The Bulls were playing for a second straight game without All-Star Zach LaVine, who is in the NBA’s health and safety protocol and not with the team.
Colin Sexton and Darius Garland had 22 points apiece as the Cavaliers dropped their second straight and fourth in five games.
Cleveland won the first meeting between the teams this season, 103-94 on March 24.
The Bulls used a run of 12 straight points in the first quarter to turn a 17-11 deficit into a 23-17 lead. Chicago led 29-24 at the end of the first and was up 46-38 with 3 minutes left in the second. But Cleveland rallied to score 11 of the final 12 points of the first half for a 49-47 halftime lead.
Chicago regained control in the third, jumping out to a 75-59 advantage with 3 minutes left in the quarter. The lead was 80-70 entering the fourth before Cleveland scored seven straight trim the lead to three points. The Cavaliers managed to get it to three points on a few occasions and were within 96-93 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. But the Bulls scored 10 straight to put it away.
